The is the note sent to 1,259 registered on GreerFarm.com to receive our newsletter advising them the berry patch it opening and a little other news.

Berry Patch Opening

We are pleased to announce that the Greer Farm Pick-Your-Own  berry patch will open at 7:00 am Saturday June 6 for the 2009 season.
There will be limited quantities of blackberry initially for the first few days, so those of you not near the the farm should not come for at least a week. We expect plenty by Saturday June 11. Blueberries will be few and far between for a week of so. To give the early pickers a chance, we are not taking pre-picked order until after June 11.
Prices this year for pick-your-own are $3 per pound for blackberry and blueberry. Pre-picked flats of 12 pints will be $40 or if less than a full flat, $3.75 per pint. 
We recommend you always call for availability, especially during the first few weeks of the season. 

The berry fields of north and east Texas were dealt a hard blow by the severe freeze April 6 and many peach and berry orchards have no fruit this year.  We had some damage to our thorn blackberries, but not our thornless blackberry.  The blueberry crop is probably 25% less in number of berries, but the berries on the plants appear to be much larger at this stage than last year.  We are also using a special organic fertilizer program and have had tremendous growth of our blueberry plants this season. 

This and That

Chef Eva's June 13 cooking class is sold out, but there are a few slots left for July 11 which will focus on cooking with fresh fruit and berries (Pittsburg peaches and Greer Farm Blackberries and Blueberries).  Classes in August (Gifts of the Garden: Cooking with Summer Vegetables), September (Artisan Breads and Soups), October (German Oktoberfest Texas Style)  and November (Roasting Meats: Succulent Roasted Lamb, Beef & Pork) are filling up.  The October and November classes are great for guys and in the afternoon kick back and watch college football on HD TV in a cabin on the ESPN Gameplan. 

We have two cabins and the bunkhouse available for the three day Forth of July weekend.  It is a great time to spend a few days on the farm and attend the fireworks and festivals in nearby towns to celebrate the 4th holiday. All other weekends are booked until after July 11.  There are plents of Sunday-Thursday weekdays available.

We are updating our blogs daily so check them on a regular basis to see what is going on at the farm.  To be published this week:  The ongoing saga of Johnny Pinecone, Bocce on the Farm and How to Not Work Cattle: Tales of a Few Good Cowboys. If time permits, we will also post on the blog some photos of our spring flower gardens.

If you live in the Dallas - Fort Worth area, please check out Food Roots bus tour to our farm Saturday June 20:  The Fruits of Their Labor  Part II. This will be an outstanding event and participation is limited.  More information is available at the Food Roots website.

The Slow Food Dallas Chapter has an event planned for the farm Saturday June 27.  This will be a hands on berry jam making class and time on the farm to pick berries.  If your appreciate good natural and healthy food, consider joining Slow Food.  This non-profit group strives to educates people about how their food choices affect everybody. 

We expect to have a good berry season and look forward to your visiting our family farm.  We appreciate your support.

Eva, Sid and all of us at The Greer Farm.